McMillian And Wife. Episode 7. “'Til Death Do Us Part” The first season of McMillian And Wife got better and better. The previous episode was great. This one is superb! The whole thing takes place over the course of one evening, with Mac and Sally trapped in their own house and facing almost certain death. The first half of the movie, featuring no action of any sort and only two actors on screen, is like watching a ticking bomb. The tension builds and builds.
Mac has just arrived home from a press conference. A serial killer is on the loose and San Francisco is up in arms. It’s Sally’s birthday and the happy couple want to try and celebrate, despite the stress of Mac’s job. We know that somebody is outside watching the house, they don’t. Inside the house, inconsequential events have an added layer of meaning/tension because we know they are being stalked. And it works a treat. Various objects are missing. Minor household objects… gone! Mac and Sally talk about it, but neither one is concerned about it. We are. The couple we love also remark on how odd it is that everyone on the circle has been sent away, or out of town, by a strange fluke of chance. Neither one of them is particularly concerned about it, but we are.
At the mid-way point, the action ramps up and all hell breaks loose. At this stage the show moves into the sort of territory usually to be found on shows like The Avengers. What happens? Well, the bad guy throws a huge bag over the whole house, traps them inside and starts to pump in some poisonous gas. There’s a bit more to it than that, it’s really some mis-led exterminators, but that’s essentially what happens on-screen. And boy does it make for great television! Big, larger-than-life, a bit daft but lots of fun. And very exciting and scary. I really could not imagine how the writer was going to get them out of this. It’s that good. And the ending - when it does come - is just as good as the build up.
I loved this. And will happily watch it again and again.
The sub-plot given to Sgt. Enright is also wonderful. He’s out of town with a beautiful model and he doesn’t quite understand how he could be so lucky. But we do, thanks to a wonderful performance by Samantha Jones, who convinces us that she’s smitten with the rumpled side-kick. Nothing much happens to them, and they only get a few scenes, but they are a wonderful couple and I would happily watch them week after week.
McMillan And Wife 7
